The Titans
In Greek mythology, the Titans (Greek: Τιτανες, Titanes, "straining gods") and Titanides (Greek: Τιτανίδες) are members of the second generation of divine beings, descending from the primordial deities and preceding the Olympian deities. Based on Mount Othrys, the Titans are comprised of the twelve children of Uranus and Gaea. They are deities of incredible strength and they ruled during the legendary Golden Age and also comprised the first pantheon of Greek deities. The Titans The first twelve Titans comprise the males Cronus, Hyperion, Coeus, Crius, Oceanus, and Iapetus and the females Rhea, Theia, Phoebe, Themis, Tethys, and Mnemosyne. A second set of Titans consists of Hyperion's children Helios, Selene, and Eos; Coeus' children Leto, Asteria, and Lelantos; Iapetus' sons Atlas, Prometheus, Epimetheus, and Menoetius; Oceanus' daughters Dione, Eurynome, Clymene, Metis, and Styx; and Crius' sons Astraeus, Pallas, and Perses. Mythology Titanomachy The stage for this battle was set after the youngest Titan, Cronus, overthrew his own father, Uranus, with the help of his mother, Gaea. Uranus drew the enmity of Gaea when he imprisoned her children, the Hekatonkheires and Cyclopes, in Tartarus. Gaea created a gray flint sickle and gathered together Cronus and his brothers to convince them to castrate their father. Only Cronus was willing to do the deed, so Gaea gave him the sickle and placed him in ambush. When Uranus met with Gaea, Cronus attacked Uranus and, with the sickle, cut off his genitals and cast them into the sea. In doing so, he became the King of the Titans. However, Uranus made a prophecy that Cronus' own children would rebel against his rule, just as Cronus had rebelled against him. Cronus took his father's throne after dispatching him and secured his power by re-imprisoning the Hekatonkheires and Cyclopes in Tartarus. Cronus, fearing the end of his rule, turned into the terrible king his father had been and swallowed each of his children whole as they were born to his wife, Rhea. Rhea, however, managed to hide her youngest child, Zeus, by tricking Cronus into swallowing a rock wrapped in a blanket instead. Rhea brought Zeus to cave in Crete where he was raised by the Corybantes and Amalthea. Upon reaching adulthood, he masqueraded as Cronus' cupbearer. Once Zeus had been established as a servant of Cronus, Metis gave him a mixture of mustard and wine which caused Cronus to vomit up his swallowed children. After freeing his siblings, Zeus led them in rebellion against the Titans. Zeus then waged a war against his father with his disgorged brothers and sisters as allies. Zeus released the Hekatonkheires and cyclopes from Tartarus and allied with them as well. The Hekatonkheires hurled stones and the Cyclopes forged weapons for the gods, including Zeus' thunderbolts, Poseidon' trident, and Hades' helmet. Fighting on the other side allied with Cronus were the other Titans with the exceptions of the Titanides, Prometheus, Epimetheus, Helios, and Oceanus. The war lasted ten years but eventually Zeus and the other gods won, the Titans were imprisoned in Tartarus and the Hekatonkheires were made their guards. Category:Greek mythology Category:Greek deities Category:Greek Titans